Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Goldilocks
I have come to realize that no matter where you are in Korea it is impossible to regulate the water temperature. What I mean by this is that it is either too hot or too cold. It is never "just right." I'm tired of burning my hands and body with hot water just because I'm trying to warm up! Anyway, I'm searching for my "just right" water temperature.
Monday, October 10, 2011
It's official!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Re-dedication
My life here is so busy. It just dawned on me this morning that I have more of a social life in Korea than I think I ever have. There is always so much to do and so much going on. However, I do have goals for being over here and it's about time that I start more adamantly working towards them. Below is a list of my goals for the remainder of my time in Korea.
1. Learn more Korean: at least enough to be able to have basic conversations
2. Post a blog update at least once a week even if it's short and simple
3. Attend more festivals and cultural events to learn more about this amazing country
Ok, well for now that is it. Short, simple, sweet and doable.
1. Learn more Korean: at least enough to be able to have basic conversations
2. Post a blog update at least once a week even if it's short and simple
3. Attend more festivals and cultural events to learn more about this amazing country
Ok, well for now that is it. Short, simple, sweet and doable.
The start of a good story: Remember that time I got naked with 100 other women?
Korea is well known for their bath houses or Jimjilbangs. They are places that people go to relax, hang out and have a spa day of sorts. However, for some of us they are places to crash after a late night in Seoul after the trains stop running.
There is a jimjilbang right next to Yongsan station, which I have been to on several occasions. It's a convenient place to sleep because it only costs about 12,00 Won ($11), which is much cheaper than getting a hotel room for the night. You sleep in a communal sleeping room on the floor with thin mats and strangely hard pillows. It's certainly not the best sleep in the world, but it gets the jobs done until the trains or subway start running the next morning.
The main attraction of jimjilbangs is the communal bath house, there are separate men's and women's areas. When you walk into the bath house it is very warm and very humid. In this particular jimjilbang, Dragon Hill, there was probably about ten different baths including three that were outside. All of the baths claim to do different things for your skin. One bath was called an Event Bath and since the description was all in Hangul I had no idea what it did so I passes on that one. I particularly liked the sea water (salt) bath as well as the bath that was like a jacuzzi because it had a lot of jets.
If you ever plan to go to a jimjilbang, as a non-Korean, be prepared. You will get a lot of stares. Let's face it, it's not everyday that a Korean sees a naked white person. I perhaps got more stares than usual because of how busty I am. I just smiled and didn't let it bother me.
Once you pay your entrance fee a lot of things at the jimjilbang are free. However, they offer additional services that you pay for. They were actually really convenient to do because when you walk in they give you a bracelet with a locker key on it as well as a waterproof bar code. Anytime you wanted to buy something you just swiped your bracelet and then you paid at the end. I took advantage of this and bought some food. I also had a scrub while I was in the communal bath area. You lay down on this slabish bed and an ajuma comes and scrubs your naked body down. It's a very cultural thing. I tried to relax and enjoy myself, but parts of it got a bit rough. Especially when she was scrubbing down more sensitive area of my chest. In the end my skin was very smooth and I wasn't too much worse for the wear.
I'm convinced that one could easily live in a jimjilbang. The one at Dragon Hill has six floors to explore that are filled with all sorts of excitement. For example it has several snack bars and restaurants, a PC Room, a proper swimming pool, a huge arcade filled with every game you could want(including 3 air hockey tables), a large common area for mingling with the men folk, and even a place to get your nails done. I highly recommend that if you are ever in Korea you take part. It's definitely an experience you will never forget.
There is a jimjilbang right next to Yongsan station, which I have been to on several occasions. It's a convenient place to sleep because it only costs about 12,00 Won ($11), which is much cheaper than getting a hotel room for the night. You sleep in a communal sleeping room on the floor with thin mats and strangely hard pillows. It's certainly not the best sleep in the world, but it gets the jobs done until the trains or subway start running the next morning.
The main attraction of jimjilbangs is the communal bath house, there are separate men's and women's areas. When you walk into the bath house it is very warm and very humid. In this particular jimjilbang, Dragon Hill, there was probably about ten different baths including three that were outside. All of the baths claim to do different things for your skin. One bath was called an Event Bath and since the description was all in Hangul I had no idea what it did so I passes on that one. I particularly liked the sea water (salt) bath as well as the bath that was like a jacuzzi because it had a lot of jets.
If you ever plan to go to a jimjilbang, as a non-Korean, be prepared. You will get a lot of stares. Let's face it, it's not everyday that a Korean sees a naked white person. I perhaps got more stares than usual because of how busty I am. I just smiled and didn't let it bother me.
Once you pay your entrance fee a lot of things at the jimjilbang are free. However, they offer additional services that you pay for. They were actually really convenient to do because when you walk in they give you a bracelet with a locker key on it as well as a waterproof bar code. Anytime you wanted to buy something you just swiped your bracelet and then you paid at the end. I took advantage of this and bought some food. I also had a scrub while I was in the communal bath area. You lay down on this slabish bed and an ajuma comes and scrubs your naked body down. It's a very cultural thing. I tried to relax and enjoy myself, but parts of it got a bit rough. Especially when she was scrubbing down more sensitive area of my chest. In the end my skin was very smooth and I wasn't too much worse for the wear.
I'm convinced that one could easily live in a jimjilbang. The one at Dragon Hill has six floors to explore that are filled with all sorts of excitement. For example it has several snack bars and restaurants, a PC Room, a proper swimming pool, a huge arcade filled with every game you could want(including 3 air hockey tables), a large common area for mingling with the men folk, and even a place to get your nails done. I highly recommend that if you are ever in Korea you take part. It's definitely an experience you will never forget.
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